Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Ireland Abandons Best Help for Autistic Children: Education Department Plans to Drop Evidence Based ABA for Autistic Children

Like many members of the Irish Diaspora, a Doherty of the Great Clann O'Dochartaigh , (1),(2),(3), I enjoy reading about Irish society and history and reveling in the Irish music, the literature and the small pleasures of St. Patrick's Day.

I am sadly disappointed though to read that the Irish Department of Education is planning to drop evidence based, effective ABA treatment for autistic children in favor or an unproven, non evidence based "eclectic:" approach as detailed in the Irish Times article Best practice autism treatment 'will vanish' under proposals:

"ABA uses behavioural science to assess and treat a broad range of behaviours in individuals diagnosed with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Many academics and support groups say it is a highly effective intervention which has produced dramatic results among children with autism.

However, the Government favours an “eclectic” approach, which it says is based on a wide range of educational approaches, including ABA, a picture exchange communication system, social stories and developmentally based approaches.

In a statement yesterday, the Psychological Society of Ireland’s division on behaviour analysis said that under the department’s proposals ABA schools would simply resemble “eclectic” special schools across the State.

Among the members of the division’s committee are Prof Julian Leslie of the University of Ulster, Dr Olive Healy of NUI Galway, Dr Geraldine Leader of NUI Galway, Dr Maeve Bracken of Trinity College Dublin, as well as Michelle Kelly and Niamh McEvoy of NUI Galway.

The division says research shows that children exposed to the “eclectic” approach do not achieve the same level of gains as children who receive full-time tuition based on the science of ABA.

In addition, it said the department had not produced any research to show the superiority of the “eclectic” approach over ABA."

ABA is the most solidly backed intervention for autistic children, call it a health or education intervention as you prefer. But it is the one intervention with solid evidence in support of its effectiveness. I fully support the rights of families to seek out other interventions and treatments for their children and if they are shown to be working with their child to continue to do so. I do not support public health or education authorities planning to abandon the most proven method of helping autistic children in favor of approaches with no evidence base. "Eclectic" is a buzz word and nothing more than that.

its so funny when governments come up with politically correct terminology to cover up failure. Such as IBI (which is supposed to be a half assed version of ABA or the ABA that doesn't work), Waitlist Management Program, Eclectic approach, Benchmarks, Ombdusman etc.

Some of us are trying to fight this shameful attack. The Department of Education and Skills have been working on this assault for years and some may be willing to give into the threats to withdraw funding, but many more will not.

We need your help though so if anybody wants to help us, please share your stories of ABA success with the people of Ireland by emailing the editors of the Irish Times and Irish Examiner who are covering this attack.

lettersed@irishtimes.com

editor@examiner.ie

PS Please follow the guidelines for writing to the editors (full name, address, contact #) and it's probably best if you address each editor individually.

Fair dues for highlighting this Harold. The ABA schools in Ireland need all the support they can get. Fear is driving parents to accept this change we'll all live to regret. As ever it's the children who'll suffer, but we know all about that here in Ireland too. It's sickening to watch a disaster play out in slow motion, powerless to intervene.

Well, take heart, the recent Denver Model study seems to lend some credence to the idea that a good (focus on good,) eclectic approach may well lead to significant gains.

I'm of the opinion, and this is totally unsupported by anything but my intuition, that it is not so much the approach but the educators who matter most. Sure, ABA has impressive results in studies - studies led by tenured professionals with years of experience. Comparing that with the "ABA" that I have observed in dozens of classrooms is all apples and oranges, though.

There is some research to suggest that interventions that are well organized, intense, and incorporate some (not necessarily all,) behavioral principles will have relatively similar success rates.

101 Noteworthy Sites on Asperger's & Autism Spectrum Disorders

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Why ABA For Autism?

The effectiveness of ABA-based intervention in ASDs has been well documented through 5 decades of research by using single-subject methodology21,25,27,28 and in controlled studies of comprehensive early intensive behavioral intervention programs in university and community settings.29–40 Children who receive early intensive behavioral treatment have been shown to make substantial, sustained gains in IQ, language, academic performance, and adaptive behavior as well as some measures of social behavior, and their outcomes have been significantly better than those of children in control groups.31–4American Academy of Pediatrics, Management of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

"We have to look also at environmental factors, and from my point of view, the interaction between the genetic factors and the environmental factors ... It looks like some shared environmental factors play a role in autism, and the study really points toward factors that are early in life that affect the development of the child"
Joachim Hallmayer, MD, associate professor of psychiatry at Stanford University in California

Even Out Environmental and Genetic Autism Research Funding

Right now, about 10 to 20 times more research dollars are spent on studies of the genetic causes of autism than on environmental ones.

We need to even out the funding.

Irva Hertz-Picciotto, UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute Researcher

My Autism Pledge For Conor

Today I pledge to continue;I Pledge to continue to fight for the availability of effective autism treatments;I Pledge to continue to fight for a real education for autistic children;I Pledge to continue to fight for decent residential care for autistic adults;I Pledge to continue to fight for a cure for autism;I Pledge to continue finding joy in my son but not in the autism disorder that restricts his life;Today, and every day, I Pledge to continue to hope for a better life for Conor and others with autism, through accommodation, care, respect, treatment, and some day, a cure;Today, and every day, I Pledge to continue to fight for the best possible life for Conor, my son with autistic disorder.

Dr. Jon Poling : Blinders Won’t Reduce Autism

"Fortunately, the ‘better diagnosis’ myth has been soundly debunked. ... only a smaller percentage of this staggering rise can be explained by means other than a true increase.

Because purely genetic diseases do not rise precipitously, the corollary to a true autism increase is clear — genes only load the gun and it is the environment that pulls the trigger. Autism is best redefined as an environmental disease with genetic susceptibilities."

We should be investing our research dollars into discovering environmental factors that we can change, not more poorly targeted genetic studies that offer no hope of early intervention. Pesticides, mercury, aluminum, several drugs, dietary factors, infectious agents and yes — vaccines — are all in the research agenda.

Conor

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It's NOT About ME

I am the father of two sons one of whom is severely autistic with intellectual disability. I have advocated for autism services for autistic children, students and adults in New Brunswick, Canada and I blog and comment about autism on the world wide web. And I like to walk .. a lot.